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18 Apr

National Portrait Gallery, Canberra

Written by Gary Stark
Saturday, 18 April 2009
I just spent a couple of days in Canberra, pretending to be a musician. I was playing a couple of blues gigs with Tony Pedrosa and Henry Swlinka as "The Hawks" and I took some time to visit the new National Portrait Gallery. First of all, some observations about the gallery: Wow! I love this place. A nice gallery, with a wonderful collection. lots of great portraits on display, and some interesting contrasts. As I also pretend to be a photographer, my primary interests were in the photographic images on display. Let's accept that I'm biased in this way. Amongst the recent acquisitions on display there were five - count 'em: five - Max Dupains. All together, in a row. And there were some other Dupains in other sections of the gallery. All great images, truly. And they all displayed not simply the mastery of photography that we expect from Max's work, but each of them seemed to me to display a softness that I'd never noticed in his work before. Not a softness in terms of focus, perhaps a slight softness in terms of exposure and contrast settings, but definitely a softness in the manner within which the images are composed and made. Wonderful! Three Bill Hensons, big, bold, and brilliant. No controversy over these images, though; these were images of a rock musician at work. Other portraits there presented, as I mentioned above, some interesting contrasts, such as paintings by Martin Sharp, along with, elsewhere, a portrait of Sharp. This happens with several artists, where we can see their work and a portrait of the artist as well. This is something that I think we rarely get to glimpse, and adds to the strength of what this gallery has to offer. A number of bronze heads, including Jack Brabham and Peter Brock, next to one another. Many of the images challenge what I think is considered to be traditional portraiture, and that is not a bad thing. As a photographer, being challenged in terms of creating images, and what makes an image, is a part of the process. As well as the permanent display, there is also currently running a display of images from the National Photographic Portrait Prize, 2009. There are some great images presented here. And I mean some truly great images. And then there's the winning image. :( In its full size, and as presented, looks far more impressive, and far stronger, than it does as presented in the press, and/or on the internet. That's about the best that I can say about this image. It's lighting is basically even and ok, but the composition, the posing, the attention to detail .... this image, for me, is probably the weakest image in this selection, and I really don't like it. Yes, it certainly challenges what I think a portrait might be, but not in any way that I think is beneficial. Contrast that with the image by Peter Luck. This image is particularly masterful, combining his (new) photo with one taken by his subjects, Pat and Lewis Morley, fifty years ago. He has recreated the older image, and combined the two side by side. The concept is great, and the execution even better, displaying an empathy with his subjects. Kim Batterham's image of Bruce Pascoe is well made and wonderfully presented: at the end of the room, sharing its wall with one other, somewhat similar, image. Striking in its presentation, it is sharp, well exposed, and just a great image. Another image that took my fancy is Bradley Wagner's Taylor, Shorncliffe. This is a scene that to me is reminiscent of Patonga in the 1950s. That's actually a somewhat redundant statement: Patonga, to me, is perpetually stuck in the 50s. The notes with the image describe it as having a Sunday feel, and yes, that is correct. It is a subdued, desaturated image, with a wonderful feel behind it. Heide Smith's "Surrounded by Music" shows Larry Sitsky, surrounded by books and manuscripts. The lighting in this image is wonderful, and the exposure just perfect. Nikki Toole's image of Daniel, as displayed on the web, did not impress me at all. It looks weak and anemic, with little to commend it. However, and as with the prize winning entry, this image, in person, looks very different. But whereas the winning entry fails to convey to me any aspects of it being a good portrait, this one, when viewed up close and personal, is just beautiful. Kevin Miller's "Reflections of Youth" seems to break a lot of rules. And I think that's precisely why this image works. This gallery is a wonderful addition to the various attractions that Canberra has to offer, and the hour or so that I spent there today has placed it very firmly in, for me, the top attractions that Canberra has to offer Australia.

24 Mar

Jorn Utzon Memorial

Written by Gary Stark
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
This morning I was privileged to be able to attend the memorial to architect Jorn Utzon, the designer of the Sydney Opera House. This was, appropriately, held in the Concert Hall in the Opera House, and was attended by many members of the Opera House family. These included those organisations for whom the Opera House is home, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia, and the Sydney Theatre Company. Dignitaries included the Governor, Marie Bashir, the Premier of NSW, Nathan Rees, and the Federal Minister for the Arts, Peter Garret. And of course the Utzon family was represented with two of Jorn's children, Jan and Lin. Listening to the speeches being made gave one a few moments to reflect upon this amazing building: how often is it that a building captures the imagination of not just a city, and not just a nation, but the whole world? The Sydney Opera House is an instantly recognisable landmark that is known throughout the whole world, and has come to represent an icon for the city of Sydney. That Utzon was able to create the design for this building well over fifty years ago, and the fact that this building so beautifully complements its harbourside location, is a tribute to the vision of this man. I can recall reading newspaper stories about the Opera House when I was much younger. The building was under construction, and it was mired in controversy. "White Elephant" screamed the newspaper headlines of the day. White Elephant? Nothing could be further from the truth: this building is in constant use, and is a point of focus for pretty well every tourist that visits Sydney. It is an arts centre, a performance space, a place of learning and inspiration, a place to visit, and a sculpture to admire from both near and far. And it is loved. Jorn Utzon, I thank you for your vision, and your gift to Sydney.

01 May

Jazzfest - Trombone Shorty

Written by Gary Stark
Friday, 02 May 2008
Friday was my first day at Jazzfest. Crowded. Very bloody crowded, and I hate crowds. People everybloodywhere. Thousands of them. Trombone Shorty takes to the stage All of the venues within the fairground were very heavily patronised, but you note the crowds from well before you get to the fairgrounds: on Canal St, outside the Sheraton, is where you get the shuttle from. There's a line that reaches around the corner, and a shortage of shuttles. After not moving in the queue for maybe fifteen minutes I decide to ignore the warnings about how few taxis there are coming back, and decide to cab it to the festival. Good decision: I get picked up by a local cabbie (of course) who is taking a friend of his to the festival. She's originally from ... Sydney! She sings, he plays the horn, I play bass ... we have a trio! Maryjane currently lives in Ireland, but comes to N'Awlins for Jazzfest every year. That's probably something I need to think about doing. Because my press tickets don't apply on the Friday or Saturday, I need to buy myself entry. $50, no re-entry privileges. No problems. I decide to just wander around for a while ... sample the atmosphere, sample the food, see who's where. I go to the press tent to collect my recording authorisation letter, and then just walk around the place, stopping at various stages and peeking into various tents. My first impression is that yes, it's very crowded: you can't get near any of the stages. I wander through the centre of the racetrack, stopping by a food stall for some lunch. For a fairground, the food is surprisingly good, and most items are less than $5 each. Over to the blues tent where the Lee Boys are belting it out. Into the jazz tent ... maybe this is where I should just camp ? Wander back to the other side again ... Trombone Shorty will be at the Congo Stage area shortly. While walking around the back I see this very elegantly attired gentleman: Mr Allen Toussaint. I trouble him for a brief interview, and being the gentleman that he is, he obliges. I get to the Congo Stage just as Trombone Shorty starts his set. It seems that the secret is out: this guy is good, and there's thousands of people in the crowd who know this for a fact. And he knows how to work the crowd too. The weather is hot, and so is the band; these guys are good! Rain threatens, but nobody cares. It's the music that's important here, and these guys have the audience in their hands. Blowin'! Everybody is smiling, and the music is the reason. As if on cue, just as the set finishes, the skies open up. Everyone gets wet, but nobody's spirits are dampened.

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